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It seems to be culturally dependent too and related to education as well. There seems to be less of an epidemic in the part of Asia where I live.

ekianjo 14y ago
I am not sure which part of Asia you are referring to, but in Japan there is "depression boom", at least judging by the increased amount of anti-depressants being sold.
- eshvk 14y ago
  I lived in India and the conditions could be described to be bleak enough to make the most optimistic person sad. Suicide rates there were 10x what they are in the west. I am not even sure there is enough cultural understanding and sensitivity about depression: There used to be an uproar and attempts to treat the symptoms when high school kids used to commit suicide by the dozen (typically after poor exam results). (To the other poster, depression is not the same as "being sad" and having a bunch of people around you all the time asking you whether there is something wrong is not necessarily conducive to mental health. (Just to offer a flip side to your oh, there is so much community which is why there is a lack of mental illness anecdote.))
  - khitchdee 14y ago
    Depression is having a negative outlook on life over an extended period of time that starts effecting your everyday decisions and causing you to withdraw from social situations. It's an extension of being sad. Turn it around. If you're happy most of the time, it will be difficult for a psychiatrist to classify you as being depressed.
    - eshvk 14y ago
      Sorry no offense, but you don't get depression. There are people who may have a "positive outlook" on life, appear to be happy go lucky and one fine day not be able to get out of bed due a to crippling overwhelming feeling of despair. This is not just an "extension of being sad.". You can't just shake a person who is depressed or throw a bunch of balloons or bring a bunch of relatives around this person and make them feel happy. Sometimes, a person who is depressed can't even explain why they are being depressed. Sadness doesn't work like that.
      - khitchdee 14y ago
        There's despair and there's sadness. Can you highlight the difference?
        chris_wot 14y ago
        I haven't withdrawn from life (except when I get very tired and need sleep), and I don't feel sad. I feel flat and empty. Others feel sadness, but it's not always that way.
    - ekianjo 14y ago
      As the other poster said, this is NOT depression. Depression is much more than just that. Seriously, you have never met anyone depressed in your life if your definition of depression is limited to that. Depression is when someone you have known for many years as being normal becomes suddenly incapable of doing anything, incapable of any logical train of thought, and spending time talking too much, obsessed by things a normal person would consider as crazy, together with severe, extremely severe mood swings. Well, what i describe is ONE form of depression, but it's not just about remotely being sad. You really should inform yourself before having an opinion on anything.
      - paulhauggis 14y ago
        "You really should inform yourself before having an opinion on anything." Oh? So we should be informing ourselves with more anecdotal evidence? "together with severe, extremely severe mood swings" This sounds like you are bipolar. Happy one day and sad the next is one of the clear signs of being bipolar.
- marvin 14y ago
  Yeah, I was just about to say that the suicides by pesticide-drinking I have been reading about don't exactly seem like a sign of good mental health. I would be willing to bet that depression and anxiety are simply underdiagnosed due to stigma or doctor ignorance. Same goes for the number one suicidal act which is normally attributed only to religious extremism: Suicide bombers. Think about it. You've read historical accounts hundreds of years old that describe these things. It doesn't make sense that this is just a made-up condition by spoiled Westerners, which is usually the first thing that people think when they look at official numbers for anxiety and depression by country.
khitchdee 14y ago
In India, where there is a large network of family and friends that you can tap into and confide in, it's much easier to pass through your low periods without them having a lasting influence on your psyche. Traditionally, there were no psychiatrists in India, but lots of gurus and so called healers that were probably used by those staggering in life. Today, the family and friends network is being replaced by Facebook which is a lot less substantial. Also, western medicine style psychiatrists are now quite common in all cities. The incidence of what is now called mental illness is picking up in India.

ekianjo 14y ago

I am not sure which part of Asia you are referring to, but in Japan there is "depression boom", at least judging by the increased amount of anti-depressants being sold.

eshvk 14y ago
I lived in India and the conditions could be described to be bleak enough to make the most optimistic person sad. Suicide rates there were 10x what they are in the west. I am not even sure there is enough cultural understanding and sensitivity about depression: There used to be an uproar and attempts to treat the symptoms when high school kids used to commit suicide by the dozen (typically after poor exam results). (To the other poster, depression is not the same as "being sad" and having a bunch of people around you all the time asking you whether there is something wrong is not necessarily conducive to mental health. (Just to offer a flip side to your oh, there is so much community which is why there is a lack of mental illness anecdote.))
- khitchdee 14y ago
  Depression is having a negative outlook on life over an extended period of time that starts effecting your everyday decisions and causing you to withdraw from social situations. It's an extension of being sad. Turn it around. If you're happy most of the time, it will be difficult for a psychiatrist to classify you as being depressed.
  - eshvk 14y ago
    Sorry no offense, but you don't get depression. There are people who may have a "positive outlook" on life, appear to be happy go lucky and one fine day not be able to get out of bed due a to crippling overwhelming feeling of despair. This is not just an "extension of being sad.". You can't just shake a person who is depressed or throw a bunch of balloons or bring a bunch of relatives around this person and make them feel happy. Sometimes, a person who is depressed can't even explain why they are being depressed. Sadness doesn't work like that.
    - khitchdee 14y ago
      There's despair and there's sadness. Can you highlight the difference?
      - chris_wot 14y ago
        I haven't withdrawn from life (except when I get very tired and need sleep), and I don't feel sad. I feel flat and empty. Others feel sadness, but it's not always that way.
  - ekianjo 14y ago
    As the other poster said, this is NOT depression. Depression is much more than just that. Seriously, you have never met anyone depressed in your life if your definition of depression is limited to that. Depression is when someone you have known for many years as being normal becomes suddenly incapable of doing anything, incapable of any logical train of thought, and spending time talking too much, obsessed by things a normal person would consider as crazy, together with severe, extremely severe mood swings. Well, what i describe is ONE form of depression, but it's not just about remotely being sad. You really should inform yourself before having an opinion on anything.
    - paulhauggis 14y ago
      "You really should inform yourself before having an opinion on anything." Oh? So we should be informing ourselves with more anecdotal evidence? "together with severe, extremely severe mood swings" This sounds like you are bipolar. Happy one day and sad the next is one of the clear signs of being bipolar.
marvin 14y ago
Yeah, I was just about to say that the suicides by pesticide-drinking I have been reading about don't exactly seem like a sign of good mental health. I would be willing to bet that depression and anxiety are simply underdiagnosed due to stigma or doctor ignorance. Same goes for the number one suicidal act which is normally attributed only to religious extremism: Suicide bombers. Think about it. You've read historical accounts hundreds of years old that describe these things. It doesn't make sense that this is just a made-up condition by spoiled Westerners, which is usually the first thing that people think when they look at official numbers for anxiety and depression by country.

khitchdee 14y ago

In India, where there is a large network of family and friends that you can tap into and confide in, it's much easier to pass through your low periods without them having a lasting influence on your psyche. Traditionally, there were no psychiatrists in India, but lots of gurus and so called healers that were probably used by those staggering in life. Today, the family and friends network is being replaced by Facebook which is a lot less substantial. Also, western medicine style psychiatrists are now quite common in all cities. The incidence of what is now called mental illness is picking up in India.